Web of Tales
by J.C. Irving
Summary: Laguz...Beorc...a Branded...and a mysterious stranger. A strange band of friends on an adventure of a lifetime. Genre: HumorActionAdventureSlight Romance.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1:

The Beginning

Disclaimer: We do not own any of the Fire Emblem characters!...Except for Etsumi, Asha, Yashi, Shoru, Mia, Kokomo, and Raine (the bad guy...for a time) (Raine is an original character who happens to have the same name as others. Get used to it!) Oh, and all other characters belong to Nintendo, Intelligent Systems, Camelot, and LEGO company...

Sakura: Good oro…that's the longest disclaimer I'll EVER write!

Cyira: Cyira here. LEGO owns the name of Takeshi, although the personality we created for him is much better than the people at LEGO could come up with...

Sakura: Oh, and I'm in here! dances in circles Anyway...let's start this story!...Oh, and several of the characters are OOC(not much though…) Also, two of the three dragon laguz fly (nifty, eh?). Last thing: NO FLAMES! THIS IS MY FRIENDS FIRST ACCOUNT, SO BACK OFF!...Thank you!

On the the southern side of Tellius, is the Begnion desert known to house rebels and villains of a sort. At the same time, bounty hunters find it a money heap. And so do monsters...

Our story focuses in on the Hawk King, whom of six years ago, having defeated Ashnard, had decided to gang up with his spy and friend Nasir, the ice dragon laguz who aided Ike's Mercenaries. Their aim was to clear out the foreboding desert of criminals. As the two friends traveled throughout the desert, they came upon a creature that at first, seemed harmless. As the conversation winds on, we see that all is not as it seemed...

The creature's ivory fangs glinted as she stared at the two laguz, mocking him. "Sss! You taunt death, Human."

Nasir puffed up. "You know, I'm a laguz. A Dragon laguz..."

The creature glared at him. "Ssss! A worm such as you clearly has no experience in these matters...leave the diplomacy for the grown-ups."

Nasir changed into a dragon as he almost exploded with anger. "I'll deal with this one, Tibarn! No respect, I say!"

The creature turned its head. "Oh, so the human now needs his little pet to help him?"

Tibarn's eyes turned a fiery scarlet. "Human? Human! Do you not see the wings on my back, you insolent Beorc handbag? I am purely a laguz, not one of the Branded. Adding to that-" He suddenly transformed into his hawk form, "-I'm the King of the Hawks! Still feeling cocky?"

The creature's fangs dripped with venom as it hissed out its terrible words. " Brave and foolish...like your father. Let's see if your insides look the same!" It turned its head toward Nasir. " And you! Had you lain off the pie, tubby, you'd have been quick enough to live! When I'm finished with this one, I'll feast on Dragon!"

"Wait...How would you know!" Nasir fumed. Seeing it was time for an attack, the creature lunged at Nasir. Before Nasir could strike back, a blur of purple blocked off the dripping fangs. Nasir could see who it was...

"Zihark! What in Asherah's name are you doing here! I thought you were aiding with Daein's reconstruction!"

Zihark pushed the serpent away and turned to the ice dragon laguz. "We finished construction almost two years ago. I came here to see if I could earn some extra cash!"

"Good! We could use the extra help!" Nasir shouted as the creature changed targets, and lunged again. This time her target was at the hawk. As the hawk king dodged lazily in the sky, he asked, "What is your name anyway? I always wish to know the name of an enemy that I will soon kill." The creature gave out a cackling laugh.

"It's Raine, and this name will be on your headstone!" She then dived at the hawk, this time scraping his wing. Tibarn's cry echoed over the desert plains as he dropped to the ground. Blood and poison mixed together as his eyes started misting over.

_Blast, _he thought, _is this…how I'm going to die?_ Tibarn could hear the evil cackle of Raine as she exclaimed, "My venom is one of the strongest venoms in Tellius! With no healer amongst you, you will die a pity end!" Then Raine gave a screech of pain. And another. And another. Tibarn tried to open his eyes, but the only thing he could see was a blonde, female Beorc walking towards him. Or was it a beorc? He could barely see on her forehead…a mark. The mark of a half-laguz, half-beorc…a Branded. He then felt the warm liquid of an elixir spread through over his wounds. Slowly, he could feel his strength and sight returning to his body. He looked up at the girl. The woman had baby blue eyes, and a scythe was in her right hand.

"Et-Etsumi?" Tibarn staggered.

"Yes Tibarn…I've returned," Etsumi then leapt into the sky and landed on Raine's back. Zihark had also followed her; only he was caught by Raine's pouncing claw. He rolled in the dust as Nasir let out his icy breath. At the same time, Etsumi stuck her scythe into Raine's neck, causing Raine to let out an ear-piercing screech.

"I will not let you get away with this, Halfling!" A blue light then sprung into the sky. Etsumi was knocked off Raine's back and landed on top of Zihark. Zihark tried to push himself up with a moan, but before he could completely recover, the blue light transported them to another place. Where they are, we can only wait…

Ephraim had trekked the desert for so many miles, he swore he had seen the same cactus twice.

He was on this strange land of Tellius only because an emerald creature kidnapped his sister, Eirika. The young king barely had a chance to fight the thing, because he was knocked out by some of her cronies. When he had landed at the Begnion port, the young apostle of Begnion, Sanaki, who gave him supplies for his quest across the sandy ocean, greeted him. As Ephraim walked, he thought only of his beloved sister and his main goal: Kill the beast. In fact, he had become so enraptured in these thoughts that he had failed to notice a few faint figures falling out of the sky, until one of them landed on top of him.

"What in the name of all that is dry and sandy is going on here?" exclaimed Ephraim, spitting out sand from his mouth.

"Whoops! Sorry…" remarked the gray-haired swordsmaster. Ephraim took a closer look at this man. He had lapis lazuli eyes and the sword at his side was the sign that he had mastered the art of the sword.

"Ah, allow me to introduce myself," the man bowed as he continued, "I am Zihark, and you might want to move before the King of Hawks falls on you too."

Ephraim returned his thanks…although none too happily. " Thanks. I'll have to remember that there are people who enjoy falling on the heads of innocent bystanders…" His sentence was cut short and was followed by a muffled thump as Ephraim, once again, was squished.

"Raine! I'M GONNA KILL HER!" Tibarn was not in a good mood.

"Excuse me!" Ephraim spit out more sand." If you don't mind, I really would like to get up!"

"Oh, sorry." Tibarn stood and extended his hand to help Ephraim to his feet. Ephraim could feel on Tibarn's hand battle scars from several wars and matches. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, two more figures landed in the dusty plains.

" More of your friends, huh?" asked Ephraim as he eyed Zihark warily. " Care to drop any more people on my head?"

"Look, I'm sorry about that. It's not my fault. It's hard to steer up there…" Zihark's voice trailed off as Ephraim's face turned red.

"Not your fault? What business do you have going up there if you can't manage yourself? I could've been killed!"

Zihark scowled. " Look, I didn't ask to be up there. We were fighting this huge serpent-thingy called Raine and-"

"AND WHAT! DO YOU REALIZE THAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA START SHOOTING THINGS AT YOU IF YOU DON'T LEARN TO CONTROL YOURSELF? YOU SHOULD'VE LET THAT MONSTER KILL YOU……"

" All right, let's not loose our heads. We've been fighting this huge green monster and she just zapped us here. We didn't mean to hurt anyone." Etsumi, running up, explained.

Ephraim turned pale. "What did this monster look like?"

Nasir, being the practical one, offered his explanation. "Why don't we show you?"

"Um…We can't really pull that off right now, Nasir, " Etsumi remarked, "She teleported us here…" Zihark then remembered something.

"Tibarn, who is this girl? Although it was brief, I noticed that you two seem to know each other well," Etsumi turned to him and explained, "Tibarn and I are childhood friends…Well… " Tibarn broke in, "I was her personal slave a very long time ago… She let me go because she felt that I needed to be free," Nasir shook his head, "To think…even the king has experienced slavery…" Ephraim then looked around, confusion on his face. "Wait…Slavery? There's slavery still in this land?"

Zihark shook his head, "There is no more slavery here, but there are some of the lords and ladies that still hold a few laguz…But, you need to know the basic history of Tellius first,"

"Maybe we should make camp first; Tellius's history is long, and that fight with Raine has me starved!" Etsumi broke in.

Sakura: The first chapter is done! dances R&R!


	2. History Lesson

**Chapter 2 **

**History Lesson**

Sakura: Another chappy! (Applause) Anyway…Disclaimer….

Tibarn: (clears throat) Sakura and Cyira do not own me, (Sakura: tear, tear), Zihark, Ephraim, Nasir, etc, but, they do own Etsumi, Cyira (a.k.a, Asha), Yashi, Shoru, Takeshi (kinda…O.o), and Raine. Also, all names that make a resemblance to other characters from other games are completely consequential…

Cyira: For more info on the whole Etsumi-Tibarn slave thingy, please read the fanfic entitled " Crossfeathers". It explains a lot more than I can fit into this space.

Shasa (don't ask ): On with the show!

Sakura: DON'T LISTEN TO CYIRA! The whole Etsumi-Tibarn slave thingy is explained in this chapter!

Cyira: Whoops. My bad.

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Etsumi sat down on the dry sand and pulled out a tea kettle out of her bag. As she continued taking things out, Tibarn and Zihark started making a bonfire. While this was going on, Nasir started to explain about Tellius to Ephraim.

"Well…The goddess, Asherah, has gifted us laguz with natural fighting abilities. The Beorc, felt angered by this and took the laguz on as slaves. During this time, there have been a few laguz countries that were free, and all the beorc countries were just one big part of Begnion. As time went on, Begnion split up land between Crimea and Daein, and they too started keeping slaves. After some time of this, the laguz started to rebel, and a huge war broke out amongst the land. You could say that it was a Civil War between the laguz and the beorc. After some time of fighting, maybe around a decade, the apostle of Begnion saw that this war was foolish, and went out to bring peace to the laguz and beorc. She issued a law that forbade anyone from keeping laguz slaves. Of course, there were some royals who still kept some laguz for slaves. Some were just found out a few years ago, and since then, everyone has been treating each other fairly…" Nasir sighed, then turned to Etsumi, who had started making food over the new bonfire, "Now that I'm done, will you kindly tell us the relationship between you and Tibarn?" Etsumi looked up from her pot, and started off, "Tibarn…was my slave, " Nasir, Zihark, and Ephraim gaze then shot to Tibarn, who sighed and remarked, "It's true, " -he turned to Etsumi- "May I finish?" With Etusmi's recognition, the hawk continued, "For the first few years, she was the master and I was the slave. Then, around ten or twenty years before the Civil War, Etsumi suddenly came up to me and said, 'Your free. Go and flee!' That was the last that I've seen of her until now…Speaking of which-" He turned to Etsumi again, "-why are you in this desert? Where's your father?" Etsumi's gaze went from the pot to the ground.

"…He died in the war….and Mother…Oh…" Etsumi's eyes started to cloud over, until she realized that the food was burning, "CRAP!" Etsumi quickly took it off the spit, and set it out on dishes for everyone.

"Ok, guys, eat up!"

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Etsumi ate her soup quietly, until Tibarn spoke again.

"You were distracted by the food earlier, Etsumi, so will you please tell us what exactly happened to your parents," Tibarn remarked, while chewing quietly on a piece of rabbit. Etsumi's eyes dimmed over as she looked over the rest of the group.

"My father was a famous ambassador to the herons for awhile…and at the same time, he was a war general. He fell in love with a heron, and they had me. Since I had the very appearance of a Beorc, my father took me in, since the heron's felt uncomfortable with the Beorc. My father, who secretly had slaves, gave me Tibarn when I came to his manse. Like Tibarn said, before the Civil War broke out, I freed him, and he fled back to Phoenicis. Since my father was a general, he had to fight in the war. He was killed at the last battle by a laguz. Mother was killed in the Serenes Massacre more than twenty years ago,"

The fire crackled merrily as the group listened to Etsumi's explanations. No one spoke, except to ask questions or receive clarification. But, for the most part, there was no speech. Most everyone sitting there had heard the story before, but no one had heard it quite like Etsumi told it. Once she was finished, everyone simply sat in stunned silence.

"So, what do we do now?" Zihark asked.

Ephraim raised a fist into the air." Kill the beast!"

"Whoa, easy there, tiger," chuckled Tibarn. "We need a plan. We need to know her weaknesses, her strengths."

Nasir frowned. "Sounds like too much work." He glanced around the group. "It seems to me that we've got enough to take her out. We have a hawk king, a sword master, a laguz, and a healer. What more do we need? "

Ephraim turned red. "Perhaps something like the crown prince of Renais?" his voice was soft and dangerous.

"Look, enough talk. We've got to find Raine. We were probably blasted some million miles away. How do we get back to where we were?"

As if it had been listening, the fire crackled and sparked, burning brighter and more intensely as if in answer to Etsumi's question. Suddenly, the flames began to shift themselves into a shape. It was a human head and upper torso, appearing to be a young girl, and it flickered back and forth as if it was dancing.Everyone watched in shock as the flames shaped themselves into form. Suddenly, it spoke. "All you have to do is ask." The voice, strangely enough, was normal and clear, as if the apparition was a real girl.

Silence overtook the camp. Etsumi was dumbstruck. Ephraim's jaw fell and he gasped as he tried to find words, his appearance not at all unlike a fish. Tibarn dropped his soup bowl. Zihark was evidently taken with the image and looked quite lovesick. Only Nasir remained with enough sense to confront the fire. "What do you want with us?"

"I heard your healer's question. Raine is keeping tabs on you. Fortunately, that means I am, too. I'm here to help."

"Wha-what are...what are you?" asked Ephraim, regaining his composure.

"It doesn't really matter. I'm quite alive, if that's what you mean. I'm in Raine's sub-cavern. I live here. I'm her slave. Well, me and that other girl, anyway."

"Other? You mean my sister? She's still alive?"

"Barely. She's almost catatonic." The image flickered, threatening to dissipate. " Look, I don't have much time or energy to keep this up. Let me just tell you what you need to know and you can ask me questions later. Raine lives in a series of underground caverns at the north of the desert. She's got your sister, whoever you are. She wants her in exchange for something, but I haven't quite figured it out yet. All I know is you must kill her. She's been terrorizing many people. I know many towns would be grateful and indebted to you, swordmaster Zihark, if you and your band did away with her."

"How do we get to Raine?" Asked Etsumi patiently.

"I am sending you something." As she spoke, a small, crystal tear seemed to roll off her face and hit the ground. It rolled out of the fire and landed at Tibarn's feet. He picked it up. It was cool to the touch and sparkled brilliantly. It whispered at him, filling his head with the sound of rolling waves. The girl's voice cut through his head, as if speaking to his mind.

"It will transport you for a distance. It will also protect the wearer from any severe injuries. Roll it between your palms and say the names of those who are to come with you. it will take you a few miles from Raine's lair." The flames flickered again, and the girl dissipated into a shower of sparks. Her voice was the last thing left. "Be careful, my friends. If all goes well, we will meet again." Then silence once more overtook the night.

Ephraim was the first to speak. He stared at Zihark accusingly and said in a whiny voice," How come she knows who you are but not me?"

Zihark stared back. "She probably doesn't have time to obsess over princes who spend all their time living in some dumb castle and ignoring the general population. I, on the other hand, have been busy making a name for myself." He puffed out his chest and looked at the rest of the group for approval.

No one was paying any attention. Etsumi was starting to break camp. Tibarn was staring at the crytstal, turning it over and over in his hands, oblivious to anything else. Nasir was looking at it with him, murmuring to himself. And Ephraim was, once again, bright red and gaping like a fish. It was apperent that Zihark had offended him beyond all else.

Suddenly Tibarn stood. "All right, everyone. I think we should break camp and sleep out in the open tonight. Then we can leave quickly come morning. Any questions?" He was responded with only small nods and murmurs of agreement. No one wanted to cross Tibarn. "Ok, then. Goodnight everybody. We have a big day tomorrow." He yawned and was asleep before he hit the ground. Soon everyone in camp followed suit. The only sound was a soft snore in Nasir's direction.

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Far away, in a great cavern dimly lit with firelight, a great evil laughter echoed as Raine watched the helpess girl in front of her. "You thought you could ssssave them, ssssstupid creature. You've jusssst condemned your heroesssss. And sssssoon you'll be joining them in the land of eternal sssssleep." She cackled again as she swayed slowly over the young laguz, eyeing her menaingly. Then she lunged, fangs glinting. " Sssssssay goodnight!"

Sakura: CLIFFY! (runs away) And just to say for my own stories, Rain of Love is finally being updated! (GoldenTalesGeek cheers)

Cyira: R&R!


End file.
